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Tuesday, June 24, 2014

SOMEWHAT SPOILERYLong Time Dead is one of the three Torchwood novels released prior to Miracle Day, and, like the others, has to rely on characters and events that wouldn't create continuity conflicts with the show. In this one, one of my favourite Torchwood antagonists, twice-dead former member Suzie Costello, awakens in the bowels of the Hub's wreckage due to an alien device that implants itself in her stomach. But with the new stab at life comes a new thirst to kill, and Suzie's not exactly the type to resist that evil impulse. Her killing spree is investigated by fan-favourite PC Andy (with some nice allusions to his knowing where Gwen is hiding but knowing he can only contact her in the utmost of emergencies) and DCI Tom Cutler, making a follow-up appearance from the novel Into the Silence. Cutler was a memorable character in that novel, and I'm glad to see him reappear. He has the classic persona of the hard-bitten detective with a modern spin, and his unknowing involvement with Suzie adds a nice element of suspense to the novel. We're in a darker type of SF than Doctor Who, and this novel encapsulates the distinction well.

The book is set entirely in Cardiff and I can't say it has the most original of plots, but it is nice to revisit some of the show's classic concepts. If you're in a Torchwood mood, you could do worse than picking up this book.